Education

Replay: The Education of the Class of 2036

First District Councilwoman Lena Gonzalez has a busy schedule. In addition to her duties on the Long Beach City Council, she’s also a Community Development Specialist with Microsoft Corporation and a mother and parent to 14-year-old Zorian, 8-year-old Ethan and a new child, six-month-old son, Luca. When it comes to education, Gonzalez’s experience with her older children has prepared her for the expectations ahead with Luca.

“I want him to be [in a school] where teachers are in tip top shape and open to ideas,” described the Councilwoman, “[They should] be very open to ideas and evolving with the time, especially here in Long Beach where everything is so progressive.”

Her list of expectations includes the city making sure that routes to and from school are safe for our kids. Choosing the right school is also important.

“What’s nice in Long Beach is we have School Choice,” explained the Councilwoman, “You can pick what school you want to go to.” The Long Beach Unified School District allows parents to choose any school within the district for their children to attend if space available.

For a parent of a very young child, there are more immediate choices, like ensuring that your child is stimulated. “We sing at home. We play a lot of music and we read every single night,” Councilwoman Gonzalez explains, “Luca is in preschool now so he’s constantly being talked to and being around other children. Even that young, it’s so very important.”

Luca attends a preschool in the First District where parents are engaged. “I don’t think those kids would be successful if the parents weren’t engaged,” says Gonzalez, “And so it’s very vital and important. I think we need to continue that model in every single school.”

Every parent today has to deal with the role of technology in his or her child’s education. It’s important both as a teaching tool and also whether students have access to those tools. “You know I work for Microsoft so its technology is around us constantly and I think it has helped us in some ways,” says the mother of two, “But it shouldn’t hinder their playing outside or books or the things we used to rely on when we were growing up.”

The Councilwoman doesn’t think the issue is overreliance on technology. “It can be very helpful especially in the library system for people who don’t have access to the Internet in their home.”

The more important question for the Councilwoman was about the importance of community engagement, even for those people who don’t have children yet.

“Get involved now with education. It’s going to be around you if you’re thinking about having kids.” Gonzalez adds, “It’s about getting involved and getting more knowledge about what is best of your child and your family.”

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